All Heroes Fall
by fallingtoTartarus23
Summary: Annabeth Chase has escaped through the doors of death, but has left behind Percy Jackson in Tartarus by force. She will do anything, and everything in her willpower to save him. Even if it means possibly sacraficing herself.
1. The Letter

_Dear Percy,_

_There are plenty of things I could say. But it wouldn't help anything. In the end I couldn't stop us from falling. You were there for everything. I didn't mean to, but I dragged you into pretty much everything I did. And I'm sorry. It's my fault you fell. It's my fault it ended. It's my fault we lost, and it's my fault that you didn't make it out. The door closed too fast and, and . . . I couldn't do anything about it. I should have fought against you more. It should be me on the other side of that door. Not you. Not you. Not you. If I could, I'd switch places with you in a heartbeat. Sometimes the murderous glances I get just aren't worth living for. I'd never think to end it willingly. I'm not a coward. You know I'm not. But if I had to die in your place, I wouldn't be too upset. In fact, I'd go willingly. Because you're much more valuable than me. Your selflessness only hurts yourself. People look at me like I killed you. And I probably did. They wouldn't look at you that way if I was down there. I'd just be another casualty. You're the hero. You're the one everybody looks up to. I'm just part of the team. Percy, no matter how much I love you, the memories we had can't take away the pain. And the more I remember, the more it hurts. I'm sorry Percy. I'm so sorry. And everyday, I think, "It should be me." Because it should. I dragged you down. I let you stay trapped. It's my fault you can't come out. It's my fault you won't be coming back. It's my fault you're gone. And I can't do anything about it._

_I love you Percy,_

_Annabeth_

Annabeth folded up her letter and dropped it into the pit. She knew it may never get to him. But it was worth a try. She knew one thing, and one thing only. She would never give up looking for him. He may be lost. But lost things, can almost always be found. And on the off chance she didn't find him, she would just have to fall down to Tartarus herself and continue searching there. Someday, if only in her dreams, she would find him. She would find him, and she would love him and hold him until she couldn't walked away from the pit, and turned back to the Argo II. Piper and Hazel enveloped her with hugs and tears. As the tears stained her shirt, she pulled away from them and sulked to her cabin. Closing the door, she curled up on the bed and cried herself to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day. They could continue searching tomorrow. Maybe she'd be able to think better with some rest. Tomorrow, she'd continue on her search for Percy. Tomorrow. . .


	2. Tartarus Has Signs

I moaned and sat up. Rubbing the back of my head I looked around. Where was I? All around me, darkness. Blistering heat assaulted my body and the sweat made my shirt cling to my body. I stood, while trying not to fall over. And walked until I found something. Anything. I stumbled across a big lump of fabric. I assume it is my backpack. But one can never be too sure. Sure enough, after rummaging through it, I found the flashlight I had stashed in before I had left the Argo II. Turning it on, I didn't get much relief. I was in a cave. And lying 40 feet away from me, was the body of Arachne. She was sleeping. And soundly by the look of it.

I sure as hell didn't want to wake her, so I followed the wall out of the tunnel. I had been her captive for weeks now. She had been dragging my death out. But now, she'd gotten careless. Because one way or another, I'd die here. I had known the moment I pushed Annabeth out through the Doors of Death into the mortal world, that I would die here. But it was worth it. I'd die in her place a thousand times over. Just as I was about to round the corner, a light thump echoed out in the cavern. Above, was Arachne's layer, and where Annabeth and I had first fallen. Arachne stirred, but did not wake. There was a scroll of paper, lying in the center. I hurriedly picked it up, and rushed out of the cave.

I walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. I didn't stop until I came to a fork in the road. There was a sign posted in the middle. To the left, led the way to the River Styx. To the right, the Doors of Death. Well, I sure wasn't going to get another Achilles heel, so the Doors of Death it was. Nice to know if you ever get lost in Hell, you'll have signs to point you the way back. As I walked down the path I rummaged through my pack. I pulled out my phone. No cell service. Nice Hades. Way to think of the people. But, there was service back up top. If I could get to the doors of death. . .

I ran faster. I didn't know for sure, but I could tell. It would be a long way to the Doors of Death from where Arachne dragged me. But the sooner I get there, the sooner I see Annabeth. And nothing sounds better than that right now...


	3. The Replacement Knob

I woke to the sound of Leo singing some ridiculous song. I pulled the pillow over my head, trying to block out the terrible sound. But Leo would have none of that. He yanked the pillow away from me and kept on singing.

"Time to wake up princess!" He yelled. Growling I flung my second pillow at his head. But sadly, he ducked and it missed his bed of curls.

"Valdez, shut _up_!" I growled. Leo just smirked.

"Now wouldn't_ that_ be nice. But it's breakfast time and it's your loss if all the bacon is gone before you get there." He flung my pillow back at me and danced out of the room. I groaned and pulled myself out of bed to struggle into some clothing. I stuffed my pajamas under my pillow and pulled the sheets up. I walked into the dining room to see the others had waited for me. Apparently against Leo's wishes as well. He was slumped in his chair shooting daggers at me as I slowed my walk on purpose to get to my seat at the head of the table. As I sat, the rest of them began. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Jason spoke.

"What are we supposed to do now?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. All I do know is that this is Percy we're talking about. He'll find some way to help us, but for now, we're on our own. I say we go back to the doors of death. The doors have to be closed on both sides, right? And the door only swings one way, as we've found before." The other five campers nodded expectantly for me to continue. "Maybe, and this may sound too simple, we could just build a knob on the other side of the door to close it." Silence greeted my ears as the five other teenagers looked at me.

Leo broke the silence to scoff.

"Are you kidding me? Those doors are_ magical_. You can't just build some regular old knob and expect it to work."

"I'm not talking about some regular old knob though." I hesitated. Leo urged me to go on.

"Then what kind of knob are we talking about here?" I took a deep breath.

"In Daedalus's computer, it showed a blueprint for the Door's of Death. They were falling apart and monsters were escaping, so Hades asked Daedalus to redesign a stronger door. The door is made of Silverwood. That's the rarest typed of wood there is. It's funny though, because the wood is black." I chuckled a little at the last few words. Evidently, nobody else thought it was funny, because they all just stared at me strangely. I cleared my throat. "There is a stash on Olympus that is used for very important pieces. If I were to borrow some, nobody would notice. I am the one in charge of all things architectural." The group nodded their understanding and Leo smiled deviously knowing his thieving talents would be needed.

"Leo could construct the knob and attach it to the door. We could go in, get Percy, and get out, and the doors would still be shut. And we could always remove the knob after we got him. We would have Percy, and the Doors of Death would still be shut." I leaned back and waited for the objections and outbursts to come. But they didn't. Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, and Leo all just exchanged looks.

"Well, we don't exactly have any other ideas. Might as well give it a shot." Piper said. I grinned at her. She looked to Jason. Raising his eyebrows he looked at me.

"I agree." he said. Hazel and Frank nodded their approval as well.

"I just have one question," Leo said while rubbing his chin in thought. "How are we supposed to know what this knob will look like?"

"There are replacement blueprints on the computer that Daedalus saved in case something were to malfunction. I think I can tinker with the magic enough to reverse it and have it open the door instead of close it. The only problem I think we may run into, is taking the knob off. It isn't meant to come off easily, but it's possible." Leo nodded and leaned back in his chair to think. After a few moments, he looked up and smiled.

"When do we start?"


	4. Minotaurs Love Revenge

Water. That's a good thing to have when trapped in the deepest part of the Underworld. I had used two water bottles in my backpack, and i only had three more. It had only been two days too. I wasn't going to survive long enough to get out of here if I didn't have any water or food. Because my granola bar supply was depleting too. I was almost to the Doors of Death. The turns and corners were starting to look familiar now.

I took out another granola bar and started to nibble on it. I would be dead before the week was out if I couldn't get any food or water. Then making this trip would be pointless. At least Arachne kept me hydrated and my belly half full. But I would trade hunger and dehydration for captivity any day. I stumbled over a rock and landed on my face. I felt a trickle of blood run down my face. Aw great. I thought. The last thing I needed was an injury I needed to keep clean. I pulled my pocket knife out of my jeans and cut a strip from my shirt. Twisting the cap off of my water bottle, I let a thin stream soak the strip of clothing. I tied it around my head and continued walking. This was going to be a long day.

*At the End of the Day*

I came to a stop against the left wall in the tunnel. Quittin' time had come and I needed some sleep. Tomorrow maybe I'd do better. Or maybe I'd just be thirstier. And hungrier. But I didn't want to dwell on that right now. I needed to clear my mind and get some sleep.

I dreamt of Annabeth.

_I stood in a garden. Flowers covered everything. Whites and pinks and reds dotted the garden. In the center, was a white, wooden bench. Bees hummed next to my ears and birds chirped off in the distance. I could smell the fresh, sweet scent of the flowers so strongly, I swore it was real. I look over to the bench which was empty only a second before, but is now occupied. With Annabeth._

_She sees me and her eyes widen. She covers her mouth and tears run down her cheeks as she runs over to me. Jumping in my arms I catch her, and we embrace. Tears are now running down my own cheeks, because it feels like forever since I have had this close contact. I almost let out a gross sob when she let go, but I restrained. She wiped her eyes and nodded, knowing how I felt._

_"I'd sit here and hug you forever Seaweed Brain, but we don't have much time. We're devising a rescue plan. Go to the Doors of Death and wait. I think I've found a way to open it again. It should take about three days. Can you wait that long?" Three days. Three water bottles. I think I could survive._

_"I think so. But, how are you going to open it?" We walked over to the white bench, and sat down. Annabeth put her head on my shoulder, and I put my arms around her, stroking her hair._

_"Daedalus had blueprints for a new knob if the door ever needed fixing. If we can attach that to the outside and reverse the magic, then we can get you out and still close the door." I thought this over._

_"Doesn't the door have to be shut on both sides though? How do you know it will stay closed if you put the new knob on?" Annabeth looked up at me with sad, but hopeful eyes._

_"We don't."_

_*THUMP*_

_"What the?" I said._

_*THUMP* *THUMP*_

_"What's happening?" I asked as me and Annabeth were bounced from our seats. Annabeth looked at me fearfully._

_"Something's after you in Tartarus. You're about to wake up."_

_"What?! B-but I'm not done here yet. I can't leave you again." I took Annabeth's face in my hands and kissed her. When we broke apart, there was nothing._

_Nothing but darkness._

Hot breath burned on my neck as I felt the creature come closer and closer. Discreetly reaching into my pocket, I withdrew Riptide. Flinging my eyes open, I slashed at the creature. The animal screamed and backed away. Well, well, well. It was none other than my Minotaur friend. And his horn was still missing. He must be royally pissed off about that.

Training his eyes on me, he roared and charged me. I had just enough time to side-step him. But not before his other horn slashed a thin line on my side.

"Dammit!" I pressed my hand against my side to stop any blood flow. The beast reared around and came at me again. His glowing red eyes burning with hatred and anger. As he neared me, I stepped to the side and jumped on his back. Since we were already in Tartarus, I didn't know where this thing would go if I killed him, but it was worth a shot. I stabbed Riptide down into his thick hide and watched him cry out and thrash around. Pulling my sword out, in one quick move, I beheaded him. I jumped off of his back as it hit the floor, and grabbed my stuff. I made a run for it. Our fight had probably attracted other monsters to the area, and my Demi-God scent was very strong. I was surprised it took this long for a monster to actually find me. So obviously, I was going to run like a mad-man, until I felt safe. Or, saf_er_. No matter. I had a date in about three days. And I sure as hell wasn't going to miss it.


	5. Wood, Theft, and Olympus

I startled awake from my dream. My blissful, wonderful dream. Gods-dammit Hades. Why does Tartarus have to be come between everything? Sitting up in bed, I held my head in my hands and just sat in silence, trying to remember his smell. It was so brief. It wasn't enough. But at least he was alive. How could I complain when he was still alive and breathing. A little shriveled up and tired, but he was alive. I had so many questions. So many unanswered. But at least I was able to tell him what he needed to know. I had a long day ahead of me. Might as well get going with it.

I dragged myself out of bed and ran to the breakfast hall in my pajamas with a new sense of urgency. I had to tell the others about my dream. I burst in through the doors to find everyone in attendance. Everyone except for Frank, but I'm sure Hazel could bring him up to date.

"I talked to Percy last night!" I blurted. The pancake Leo had been digging into fell from his mouth.

"Well," Piper said after a while. "What did he say?!" I took my usual seat and explained my dream. I told them how he was fine, but a little shaken up and dirty. I told them how I told Percy of our plan, and I told them about how he had to wake up, because something was attacking him. I stopped and filled my plate with two pancakes, some eggs, and strawberries. Four pairs of eyes cut into me as I made my offering to the Gods. As I started to eat my breakfast, Jason finally spoke.

"I guess this means we'd better hurry on up with our plan." I nodded.

"Leo?"

"Hmm?" I smiled.

"You ready to go steal some wood?" Leo smiled evilly.

"Hell yeah!"

*LATER*

"Leo would you stop humming! You're going to give us away!" I hissed. I swear to the Gods if he doesn't shut up I'll kill him.

"Sorry." He whispered. I didn't really believe him, but it got him to shut up. We were on Mount Olympus. The supply room was as big as two malls put together. Shelves and shelves of supplies. It was incredible. And it was all mine for the taking. Current projects had been pushed aside due to the fact that Percy was in Hell. Poseidon had argued against Zeus to let me halt the projects for a while. It had taken time, but it had worked. In the hurry to leave Olympus, Zeus had forgotten to take away the keys to the equipment room, and pretty much everything else on Olympus. The only real problem, would be smuggling the wood out. All of Olympus knew that I wasn't working on anything currently.

Leo, Hazel, Jason, Piper, Frank and I crept along the walls. Using my key I unlocked the door and stepped in. I emerged a few minutes later with a few planks of wood. It was only a couple minutes to the elevator, but that didn't mean I didn't need to come up with an excuse for the security guy in front. We silently walked. Toward our possible demise. Zeus's temper had been explosive as of late.

Leo pressed a button on his little remote. The little bastard had built it in an hour. It deactivated all security cameras. We were about to cross over into the elevator, when the exit man stopped us.

"Annabeth! I thought you were taking a break from all this architectural stuff sweetheart!" I smiled sweetly at Daniel, and nodded.

"I was, but I'm working on a little project with my friends here. We needed the wood to make it look pretty." I batted my eyelashes. "We'd better head out, Chiron will be wondering where we are. I'll talk to you when I get back on the job. Bye Daniel!" Piper, who had been staring intently at Daniel, smiled and waved. Daniel waved back, looking more confused than ever. We piled into the elevator and I gave Piper a high five. She'd worked on her Charm speak, to be able to do it without actually speaking now. It was amazing how I was willing to just lie through my teeth for one guy. But it's worth it. He's worth it.


	6. Cabin Fever

One water bottle. One granola bar. One more flashlight battery. One more day. All I needed to suffer through, was twenty-four more hours of hell. And then I'd be safe. I'd be home. And I'd be with Annabeth. I had gotten to the Doors of Death last night. All I needed to do was sit, wait, and not drink all my water. The life of a Demi-God sounds real exciting to mortals. Hell, sometimes it is. But sometimes, it was just downright boring. Like, who would want to sit in Tartarus for a day twiddling their thumbs? Some might think it sounds dangerous, with all the monsters down there and all. But I'd only run into one. I was kind of hoping to run into another one at this point. I guess you could say that I had Cabin Fever.

I lay on my back staring up into the nothingness above me. Down the nearest tunnel I could hear the cries of the lost souls. Talk about creepy. Every few hours, the unbearable heat was turned up just a bit. As a gift from Hades. Sometimes I ran into other people down here who had wandered from the fields of Asphodel. They all had their own stories, but none of them could beat mine in the tragedy section. Except for this one guy. Winchester was his last name. At the moment his first name escaped mine. But he had two adult sons. They hunted things. Demons, ghosts, spirits, monsters, anything Supernatural. A demon had killed his wife when his children were little, and he had been hunting it for years. He finally tracked it down and almost had his son kill it. But he couldn't, so the demon escaped. His boys and him were leaving town, when they were hit by a big truck. It nearly killed his one son Dean. In fact, Dean was about to die. But he made a deal with the demon. He would trade his life for his son's. He would die and go to Hell, so that his son could live. I asked him how he had survived for so long.

"Skill, talent, and bribery." The man who I had now remembered was named John smiled. He told me of all the monsters and demons who were willing to trade mortal things for information. Like where to find food and water. Obviously I asked him, but he said it was on the other side of the Fields of Punishment. He had been there. He knew what it was like. How he escaped from it? He wouldn't tell me. But it was possible. He left after we finished talking. Apparently he was on a mission too. I told him about the Doors of Death, but he told me that no regular mortal could pass through it. Which would make sense. I was sad to see him go. I hadn't had a real conversation with anybody since Annabeth was here with me.

*WHACK!*

Something hit me. I didn't know what it was, but it jostled me out of my thoughts. I looked around, and saw nothing. Next to the rock I was sitting on, was a stick. What the hell is a stick doing down here? I thought. I looked around and again saw nothing. Wait, yes I did. Yellow eyes pierced through me out of the darkness. Hissing filled my ears and startled me. The large snake figures evolved out of the shadows. Coming closer, and closer. Basilisks. Great timing. Right when I wanted a fight. They sprung at me. And I attacked.

Fire flew by my face as I sputtered back in surprise. I had forgotten just how dangerous these things were. As one snake of the three came at me, I slashed it's head off. The second coiled up ready to spring, but I would let it get that far. I slit the second snake open and flung it across the room. The third snake. That's all I needed to take care of. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I prepared for my fight. The snake hissed and bore its fangs to me. It charged and I ran to meet it halfway. As it's fangs prepared to cut into my stomach, I shoved my sword down it's throat, instantly halving it.

Breathing hard from my fight I threw the snake parts into the little steam hole by the back wall. I leaned against my rock. This was going to be a long twenty-four hours.

**_MWAHAHAHAHAHAH_ YESSSSS! I included John Winchester from Supernatural! :P It was a great pleasure to write (if only for a sentence or two) about Sam and Dean Winchester. :D Favorites and Reviews are IMMENSELY appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Magic Box

I sat on my bed, and polished the top of the knob. It was almost complete. Leo was working on the magic part because that was much more complex, and I was sticking to the blue prints and the simpler things. We were almost finished. And then came the moment of truth. I just hoped that Percy was okay.

"There," I said with a smile. It was nice and shiny.

Just then, Leo came bursting through the door. Breathlessly, he said, "I - I think I got it." I smiled and hopped off my bed. Running a hand through his hair he held the door open for me. I nodded my thanks and we made our way to the dining hall where he had been working. In the middle of the table was a big glowing box. Inside, was a bright blue mist. It was beautiful. Leo snapped his gloves on and positioned his goggles.

"The knob, please." I handed him the knob. Gingerly, he opened the lid of the box. Instead of spilling out, the mist stayed in place. Leo smiled and set the knob in the mist. Closing the lid, he turned off the lights.

"It should probably stay in there for a while, to make sure the magic is distributed throughout all of the knob." He took off his gloves and took a seat at the table in front of it. I followed his lead.

"Why did you need to turn off the lights? Does it help it move faster?" Leo shook his head.

"It just looks prettier in the dark." I nodded my head once and continued to stare at the knob in the magic box.

"It's so beautiful." Leo smiled knowingly.

"Kind of makes you wonder how it could be used for evil, doesn't it?"

"Yea." We continued to just watch our magic box until we thought the time was up. Lifting the lid, Leo carefully pulled the knob out.

"Well," I said taking the knob in my hands. "I guess we'd better go get the others. It's time to pull my boyfriend out of Tartarus."

*AT THE DOORS OF DEATH*

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Hazel asked tentatively.

"Pretty sure," I said. All I got were four blank looks and one very anxious one. "Fifty percent sure, anyway." I took the knob and placed it over it's place in the door. I screwed it in and waited. Sure enough, after about five seconds, the blue in the light bulb spread throughout the whole door and shimmered.

"I estimate we have about two mintes before the magic runs out and the knob falls off. I'm going to go in, you guys guard the door and make sure no monsters come in, alright?" The four other teens nodded their heads and I turned.

Well, I never thought I'd be going back to hell. It's not like I wanted to. It definately earned it's name. Because it was Hell. Literally. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and put my hand on the knob. I tried to turn it, but it stuck fast. I was about to lose hope and start crying, until I tugged harder, and the knob opened up the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, I opened the door, and without hesitating, took a step through, hoping I'd be coming back out. If I didn't, then the Doors of Death would have earned it's name as well.


	8. The Drakon

I sit in the blistering darkness of Tartarus. It is quiet, but never silent. The Fields of Punishment echoe it's victim's cries everywhere. I have never seen the Fields of Punishment. I just hope I will never have to. Annabeth is coming today. At least, from what she last told me. She could have gotten delayed, or captured. Or, oh gods . . . killed. Nope, nopenopenopenopenope. I refuse to think that way. She's not dead. If she was, I would know. Someway. Any way. The clomping of steps startles me out of my troubled thoughts.**  
**  
"Annabthe?" I say into the darkness. I wipe sweat from my forehead and uncap Riptide. Just in case. The soft stepping becomes louder and louder. Shadows dance across the walls. Nope. That's definately not Annabeth. Larger. And larger. The shadow grows larger. Until it becomes the form of a fire breathing Drakon. My eyes widened. Terror overcomes my body. Fire flies past my ear and singes my hair. Backing against the wall, I am paralyzed with fear. There is no one to help me. I am stuck. The fear ripples through my chest. But I stop it there. If fear doesn't wake you up, it shuts you down. And shutting down isn't an option in this fight. Because you shut down, you die. Dying so close to Annabeth is a failure. I can not fail. I _will not_ fail. This monster is the only thing standing, or _hovering_between me and Annabeth.  
I run up to meet the monster. It roars at me and it's hot breath singes my clothing and fills my nostrills with disgust.

"You may not know this, being in Hell for so long and all, but there's this great new invention called toothpaste," I say waving my hand in front of my nose. "I think you should check it out." I stab Riptide down into the beast's flesh and rear back as it lets lose a blood curdling cry.  
We circle each other. Round and around we go. My eyes mixed with determination and fear, and the Drakon's with anger and blood lust. It charges me, opening it's jaws, ready to clamp down on my head. But I won't let it get that far. I chop off the creatures ear and jump on it's back. It turns it's head around and prepares to blow fire. As the searing plumes of red and yellow and orange explode from it's mouth, I jump off and come to the front of it. It attempts to face me again. I swing Riptide with all my might and bring the Drakon's head off with a single blow. Breathing a sigh of relief, I cap Riptide and sit in the darkness again.

As I regain my breath I begin to sense a change in the air around me. Uncapping Riptide again I swing around. Oh gods. Oh . . . Oh my gods. Her blonde hair sticks out of her loose ponytail and the dirty splotches on her orange t-shirt are fading along with the color. But her eyes. Her grey, peircing eyes.

They would never fade.

She gives me a sweet little half smile. "Hey Seaweed Brain." For a moment, we just stand there. Taking in each other. Until I can't stand it anymore. I close the space between us and pull her to me, tears running down my cheeks. I can feel the tears running down her cheeks as well. She buries her head in my shoulder, tightening her hug.  
Breathing in deeply she says, "Man, Percy. You really need a bath." I let out a breathy laugh as she takes my face in her hands and kisses me. Now it was my turn to tighten my grip around her now. We both let out a content sigh. She brakes away first.

"We need to get out of here. If the door closes, then we'll still be stuck here." Taking my hand, she leads me down the hall she'd come. More twisting and turning and we're at the Doors of Death. The, _open_, Doors of Death. She grips my hand harder and we step through the open doors.

**YAY! :D Happy reunions! But don't get too comfortable my friends. MWAHAHAHAHAHHA! More to come later. **


	9. Reunited

"Oh gods. Oh my gods. Percy!" Piper squealed. She ran forward and threw her arms around him sobbing. It almost looked as if Leo would follow suit, but he restrained himself apparently. I smiled. My family. These guys were my family. I just couldn't imagine life without them now. Turning to the others, Percy gave them his gorgeous half smile.

"Hey guys." It was Hazel's turn to break down next. One by one they all followed suit. Even Jason, with his serious demeanor and startlingly sharp blue eyes. The hug was a big awkward, but it was cute nonetheless. Leo decided to go last, claiming he wanted to save the best for last, but we all knew he was just trying not to cry.

"I missed you, man." He clapped Percy on the shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut. This is how I wanted everything to stay. We were together, reunited. We were a complete family again. It would have to take a lot to break us up again. I would make sure of that.

"Uh, guys?" Frank asked hesitantly. We all looked toward him. Pointing to the door, he said, "Uhm, I think we should probably close the door while we still can." Grumbling Leo let go of Percy.

"Always gotta jack the moment don't ya Panda boy." Frank blushed and I strode to the door. I came to the black frame. Darkness. You could see absolutely nothing from this end. A blistering breeze attacked my face, leaving it ripe with beads of sweat. Grasping the handle I prepared to close the door. It was loose. It shouldn't be loose. And it was getting looser and looser by the second. That wasn't good. Nope, definitely not good. I slammed the door shut and turned to face the rest of the group. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's closed." There was a smile on everyone's face. Later I would realize how we all seemed to grow closer in that one moment. Later I would realize that no matter how much we despised each other at a certain moment, we would do whatever it took to keep the other safe. And later, I would realize that not quite everything felt right...

**I know it's short, but everything's happy! But not too happy ;D**


	10. The Open Door

"If I could, I'd stay like this forever," she whispered in my ear. I smiled and kissed the side of her head.

"Me too."

It felt good to be back. My cabin was spotless as ever from Tyson. The lake was clearer than I remembered. The grass was greener. The sky was bluer. Everything was perfect. Especially this moment, right here, with Annabeth. We had found the hammock in the attic. Chiron gave us permission to set it up and we were relishing the relaxing feeling.

Everything felt colder since coming out of Tartarus. You get so used to the constant burning, that it becomes a background sensation to everything else. It was nice to feel cold again. It was even nicer to hear my mom tell me to put on a sweater. Visiting her for those few days was paradise. Well, almost paradise. This right here. This was paradise.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes while rubbing my thumb in circles on the back of Annabeth's hand. Just then, Grover trotted up to us to announce that it was time for dinner. The whole, eat with your cabin rule, kind of didn't apply to me or any of the seven anymore. We had our own table in the center of the cafeteria. It made me feel bad sometimes that a rule didn't apply to us, but when you're spending time with your family you don't really think about it anymore.

"Settle down! Settle down everyone!" Chiron raised his voice to be heard over the chattering. Slowly, the talking faded, and Chiron smiled. "Welcome to tonight's campfire! Now it has come to my attention that there has been some plummage issues in cabin . . ."

"Percy." Annabeth took my hand and I smiled.

"Yea?" I looked over to her on my left. My smile faded and was replaced by a look of worry. Annabeth was pale and her grey eyes looked dull. Her eyes were never dull. Unless she was afraid. "What's wrong?" She took a deep breath and squeezed my hand.

"You know how we went to the attic to get the hammock?" I nodded. "Well, when you went to get the extra rope, the . . ." She bit her lip and looked forward. "Rachel came up and talked to me." Slowly I widened my eyes in unerstanding.

"She . . . talked to you. Well, what did she say?" Annabeth nervously swallowed.

"She, she said that. She said that something bad was coming. Something real bad."

"Annabeth," I turned her to face me. "What did she say exactly."

_One's thoughtless mistake_

_Peace, it will forsake_

_The seven must embark_

_On a journey that will end in the dark_

_To reclose the doors_

_That Wisdom's daughter has ignored_

_If they should fail_

_Then darkness should prevail_

_Once and for all_


	11. Summon the Seven

"Annabeth, we have to tell Chiron."

"I know, I just. Everyone is so happy and calm. Who am I to ruin it?" I said. We were walking hand in hand back to our cabins from the campfire. I knew I had to tell him. We needed to close the doors again. I just didn't know how.

"There may not be much calm after monsters come back to attack the camp now that they're free to avenge their death." I sighed.

"Fine. We'll go." Percy pulled me ahead to the Big House. Chiron was kneeling on all four of his legs quietly reading a book when we came to disturb his peace.

"Annabeth, Percy. How can I help you?" He asked with a smile. Wringing her hands nervously, Annebeth quickly told Chiron what had happened. As he listened. Chiron's smile morphed into a look of worry.

"We must close the doors," he said. You should leave at once. Go-" Before Chiron could finish his sentence, thunder clapped and lightning struck the sky. A puff of dark clouds descended from the sky. Standing on top of the clouds, was none other than Zeus himself.

"It seems," he began. "That we have a problem. Your foolishness may cost this world greatly. I am aware, that you are aware, so I will not drag this visit out." Zeus turned to Percy and raised his eyebrows. "The things these children would do for a son of Poseidon. My own son even. It shames me that you would rather save one life and risk hundreds more daughter of Athena." Zeus stepped back on his cloud and lifted his chin.

"Be warned. If you do not succeed in closing the Doors of Death again, we Olympians will have no choice, but to destroy you. Your mother is in agreement Annabeth. You have cost us much by this. If we cannot close them, we must make an example of you seven. If anything, think of all your friends. Was all of this really worth it, to just get all your little friends killed in the end?" He lifted into the clouds leaving the wind to attack our faces._ My fault_. We all agreed to rescue him. It's not my fault we kept the door open just a bit too long. Okay, it's not _all_ my fault. Or, some of it itsn't anyway.

"It's not your fault Annabeth." Percy said putting a hand on my shoulder. "If anyone was to blame, it would be all of us. We each had our own part in this." But deep down, even I knew that wasn't true. I appreciated his effort, though. Chiron shifted his eyes to the door.

"I will summon the seven in the morning. You two, get some sleep. You leave tomorrow."


	12. Monster Doughnuts and Medusa

"Holy crap, Annabeth. I knew you were a little nuts, but I didn't know you were trying to get us all _killed_!" Leo was pacing back and forth in front of the rest of the group muttering in Spanish. "_Todos vamos a morir. Soy demasiado joven para morir . . ._"

"Valdez, shut _up_." she said. Annabeth had gone pale and sickly overnight. It hurt to see her like that. And Leo wasn't making her feel any better.

"She's right Leo. I think that's enough," I said soothingly. He looked from me to Annabeth and took his seat looking ashamed. Jason stood and addressed the group.

"If we're going to do this right, we'd better do it now." Piper stood and took his hand. Together, they boarded the Argo II. Frank, Hazel, and Leo all left next, leave me and Annabeth by ourselves. I crossed the room and took her into my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder and squeezed tighter than I thought she had the strength for.

"This is all my fault." she whispered. "I was too caught up in getting you out that I was careless. I could feel it too. I could feel that there was something wrong." I took her by the shoulders and forced her to look me in the eye.

"I would have done the exact same thing. But it would be a whole lot worse. It's kind of nice to have _you_ screw something up for a change. Now it's my turn to help you fix your mistake." We both smiled lightly and approached the ship where Leo was manning the controls. As we set foot on the deck, Leo lifted us into the air, and we flew away. Back to the Doors of Death.

***the next day***

"Are we there yet?" I whined to Leo. Leo glared at me to shut me up, but that wouldn't stop me. "I'm hungry. Can we stop at Monster Doughnut? I'm in the mood for a fight. Let's go antagonize some monsters. Gods, I have to use the bathroom. I don't want to get up. I bet Monster Doughnut has a bathroom. They have doughnuts too. And you know what Doughnuts go well with? An empty bladder. This deck looks dirty. When's the last time you cleaned this thing, Valdez? I should tell Jason -"

"OKAY, PERCY. I GET THE POINT. WE'LL TAKE A BREAK SO YOU CAN PEE AND SATISY YOUR DOUGHNUT CRAVING" Leo sharply turned right and roughly landed us on top of a bank across the street from the nearest Monster Doughnut.

"YAY!" I said. I enjoyed acting childish. It got on Leo's nerves. And it amused Annabeth. I hopped off the ship and jogged to the bank door. The mist would probably make the ship look like a large flock of birds had landed or something. At least the rest of the gang were safe. I made my way through the bank, none of the adults questioning my presence. Running across the street, I entered Monster Doughnut. Inside it looked like any other Doughnut shop would. Aside from the fact that it was full of mythical creatures.

After relieving myself in the restroom, I stood in line to buy two dozen donuts. One dozen glazed, the other chocolate glazed. I paid for the doughnuts and was about to walk out the door, when a familiar hiss echoed directly behind me. Turning my head, I gasped.

Nonononononononononononononononononononononononono nonononononononononononononononono.

This was impossible, it couldn't be happening.

"It is so good to see you again, Perseus. I was beginning to fear I would never see you again. Shutting my eyes, I stood as still as I could. But her snakes kept nipping my neck, leaving behind a sting that couldn't possibly be ignored.

"I killed you once, I'll do it again if I have to." I said reaching for Riptide in my pocket.

"There will be no need for that Mr. Jackson. I was just saying hello. You may carry on with your sweet treat to the rest of your friends." Her snakes continued to nip, more frantically.

"Not today girls. Percy has a quest he must complete," she soothed her snakes.

"What?" I asked. Medusa would not just let me go. Not after what I did to her. I could hear the vicious smile in her voice.

"You are doing me a favor son of Poseidon. Why would I kill you before you could carry it out? I will save the killing for another day." She brushed her snakes against my neck. I could hear the click clack of her heels as she slithered away. I slowly opened my eyes.

This day was getting better and better. First doughnuts and _**one of my mortal enemies had let me go**_. This day also seemed to be getting worse and worse. Well for one, _**one of my mortal enemies had let me go**_. Why? How would closing the Doors help her? She had escaped from hell. Why not let some of her friends out as well? Medusa wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this, though. Unless she thought she wouldn't have to do it herself. That meant someone else would.

And if Medusa knew someone else would, she also knew who, or _what_, that someone was.


	13. It's Not Arabic

"Hold on a second, you saw _who_?" Jason asked Percy. Percy rolled his eyes.

"It's not Arabic, Graace. Me-du-sa." Jason rolled his eyes and shook his head. I grinned, although I knew this wasn't the time or place for it. This was serious.

"Medusa, as in _the_ Medusa?"

"Yes, Jason_. The_ Medusa. Is it so amazing that I met her?" Percy walked to the side of the ship and looked out to the passing clouds. His black hair tousled by the wind, he looked very handsome. On this ship, his eyes always seemed brighter. Happier.

"But, you didn't_ just_ meet her. She wouldn't recognize you . . ." Jason looked genuinely confused. But his eyes lit with a thunderstorm when he understood what had come to pass. " Unless you've met her before." Jason laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "You killed Medusa. Holy cow, Jackson. I knew you had guts, but I never knew you had a death wish."

"Who needs wishes when you have mythological powers?"

"Yes, this is all nice and dandy conversation, but we have more important matters to focus on. Let's take for instance, the fact that the monsters are leaking out of Tartarus. Or, the fact that monsters are leaking out of Tartarus." This common banter was nice and all, but we had more important things to focus on.

"Always the kill joy aren't you, Chase?" Leo said joining the group. Piper, Hazel, and Frank joined him shortly afterward.

"She's just trying to get things done. Which is more than I can say for you Repair Boy." Piper walked to Jason's side. He draped his arm around her shoulder as they leaned against the edge of the ship.

"I'm the one piloting this ship, if you don't mind." Leo crossed his arms in a defiant stance while Hazel scoffed at him?

"Really?" She asked. "Because from my view, there's no one manning the ship at all." Realizing this, Leo's eyes widened as he ran to the controls. Turning the wheel, he righted the ship sending the rest of us fighting for balance.

"I'm serious, guys! We have to figure out what to do!" I said. We weren't getting anywhere, and I was starting to become anxious, and worried.

"We could post some of us at the doors to stop monsters from escaping," Leo said.

"That's too dangerous. We'd lose our lives preventing the inevitable," Hazel countered.

"Maybe we should find someone else to guard them," Piper suuggested.

"I'm not quite sure that would work either. Who would be willing to do that?" Percy suggested. Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Percy broke out into argument about what should be done. Frank and I walked toward each other and looked on in amazement. Just a moment ago, they were joking. Now, this. Frank finally spoke.

"Hey," he said. "Hey?" He said louder. "_**HEY!**_" He shouted. Everyone froze. Frank never shouted at anyone. Never. "What if," he said calmer. "We just do nothing."

Silence.

Leo laughed. "You're joking right?" A thought occurred to me.

"No. He's right." I said. All eyes turned to me. "We would waste time on a distraction that can't be helped. If we were to kill the monsters as they exited the doors, they would just reform and try to escape again. They only way we can stop them, is by closing the doors. And we can't do that if we don't have every person to help. We work better as a team." Nodding. But doubt.

"That's a nice plan and all. I mean, I'm all for doing nothing, but," Percy said. "How are we going to close the doors in the first place?" That, was a problem, yes. But I knew what to do.

"We have to go to hell and pay a visit to the Lord of the Dead." I smiled

"And his son."


	14. The Decent Into Hell is Easy

"Are you sure about this?" Jason asked as we boarded the boat into hell.

"About 90% sure." she said. That was a change. Annabeth was usually sure about everything she said.

"Well what about the other ten percent?!" Leo asked as he warily took his seat. Annabeth just rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"It's for you and Grace." Everyone took their seats and the decent into hell began. Watches, teddy bears, hair pins, jewelry, blankets, glasses, pictures. They all floated by our heads in steady streams heading only the gods know where. It was really creepy down here. And hot. Real hot. It brought sweat beading along my forehead. Sweat and memories. Bad memories. I was happy to get out of here. Now I was heading back in, straight to the host's palace. Hermes' shoes couldn't get me out of here fast enough.

"Percy, are you alright?" Hazel asked. I nodded briskly. Sure I was alright. Fine and dandy. The real question was whether my mental stability was going to survive this without turning and making a beeline for the exit.

Below I could hear the screams of the damned. Some shrill and piercing, others low and rumbling. It was a chorus of agony that should be halted, but can't. This is the punishment for evil. And Gods forbid you try to escape your punishment.

We floated to the steps of the palace and were greeted by hell hounds. They circled us and looked as if they were ready to pounce. But they were stopped, as they always are upon us returning to hell. But this time, it wasn't by Persephone, or even Hades himself. It was by Nico. He yelled something that I couldn't quite make out, but apparently the dogs could. They immediately ceased growling and turned to each other and started to play. The chased after each other and played with their tails like any other dog would. Nico smiled, well, "smiled", at us and gave Hazel a hug. Yep, still the same old Nico. 20% Dark and Gloom, 20% Mystery 10% Teenage Boy and 50% Awkward. The awkward scale had gone down since the last time we saw him. But it seemed like the Mystery bar had gone up with Dark and Gloom. I guess that's what becomes of you when you spend all your time with the Lord of the Dead.

"Hey guys," he said. "It's nice to see you." He sounded completely genuine. His posture was sagged when we had first arrived, it seemed that us being here had brought back some life to the poor kid. I realized that being in the Underworld all the time, he probably didn't have many friends down here. I felt a pang in my heart when I realized just how much he must miss his old life. Power radiated from him. But he didn't seem, happy.

"It's nice to see you too, Nico." Annabeth said with a soft smile. Judging by the way she looked at him, she had come to the same conclusion I had. "We have something we need to ask you," she said. Nico perked up yet a little bit more.

"Sure, anything." he said. I still remembered the little kid who had crushed on Annabeth real hard when he had first met her. I had to wonder now if there was still anything remaining of that crush by the way he looked as if he was fighting to keep his tongue from hanging out of his mouth. Annabeth didn't seem to notice, so she just continued.

"As you probably know, the Doors of Death have been opened again." Nico nodded his head sadly. "Well, you see. It's. It's kind of our fault." Nico's eyes widened but he made no accusations. Which I was grateful for. "No, that's wrong. It's actually my fault. And we have to close them, or else we'll all end up as bone rings on Zeus's pinky fingers.

"And we had an idea about how to close them, but we need your help for that."

"Well what do you want me to do? I'll help you any way I can." Annabeth bit her lip.

"I was thinking, if the door needs to be closed on both sides, and we don't want to use one of our own again, you can see how well that worked out, we could maybe use somebody already on the inside. Would you happen to know anybody already in Tartarus that would be willing to help you?" The hope in her eyes would hardly make you hesitate to shove a knife up your gut. I could see Nico mulling over the idea in his head.

"I could do that." he said. We all let out a sigh of relief. "But," he said. Leo groaned. "I'd have to talk to Hades. And it's in Tartarus, not just anywhere. I'd have to get somebody either so scared they'd ruin their pants if they even thought about disobeying, or a gracious loser. Which, I might add, are almost impossible to find. Most of the monsters are neither and have escaped through the doors already. Any of the ones left are too afraid to do anything that would go against Hades." I noticed how he never called him his father. His voice went cold when he said his name. Looks like someone was having Daddy problems.

"But we talked to Medusa and she let Percy go so that he could close the doors." Nico nodded. The monsters all want you to fail. They have ranks guarding the entrance to make sure you seven can't go in and close it. They were directed to not kill you, but to let you continue on your quest so they could kill you inches shy of your goal."

"Those damn clotpoles!" Leo shouted. All seven of our heads turned to look at him. We all stared in silence as he breathed in an angry breath.

"What?" He asked.

"Clotpole?" Jason asked.

"Yea. It's like an oaf or a fool from the days of Shakespeare. Don't look at me like that, I was trying to be poetic." We all rolled our eyes as Nico burst into uncontrollable laughter. We all exchanged surprised looks. We hadn't seem Nico laugh like that for ages. Soon it became contagious and we all couldn't stop laughing. Wiping the tears from my eyes I cleared my throat.

"Uhm, I think we're getting a little distracted here." Regaining his breath, Nico wiped his eyes as well and became serious once again.

"I think I should take you to see my father."

**Notes**

Oh goodness I haven't written in a while. Distractions are everywhere, so it's not technically my fault.

And yes.

Clotpole

I learned it from Merlin

**You're welcome**


	15. PSA :D (Jk not really)

We interrupt this program for an important announcement:

Head on over to my profile and check out my other fanfiction from The Darkest Minds by: Alexandra Bracken!

I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you!

More on Percy Jackson to come later!


	16. Scavenger Hunts to the Doors of Death

"WHO DARES DISTURB- oh Nico," Hades began. "It's just you. I was about ready to pounce. Well, what is it?" Hades sat atop his throne picking his teeth with a bone from the gods-know-what. Nico stepped forward and proposed our idea to the Lord of the Dead. Hades' eyes sparked with interest. Whether the interest was in helping us, or what shade of black our cells would be down here, I didn't know.

It was good to see Nico again. It was especially good for Hazel, who seemed to be in an exceptional mood. She didn't have any family left. And Nico was the closest thing to it. As Nico finished telling his father the details of our request, the seven of us shared worried glances. What if he said no? Or worse, what if he helped the rest of the monsters out to get us out by just killing us right here and closing the doors himself? But then again, there goes the whole army thing. He'd probably just snatch us up and drop us right at the front line.

Nico stopped speaking and the silence that hung around us was heavier than the weight in my stomach. Hades rubbed his chin and thought through all his options. The longer he sat there, mulling over what to do, the more worried I became. Finally, he spoke.

"And, if you don't close the doors, the pompous ass up in the sky will tear you apart? Limb from limb, as I recall from your story." We all nodded. "Hmm. I believe I can help you. ON" Hades said interrupting our cheers of joy. "One condition." I was wary to agree to any terms the God of death and evil was going to set.

"What's the condition?" Percy asked. Hades smiled the smile a devil might smile. But then again, this was a devil.

"My condition," Hades began. "Is that you all bring me the knob on the Doors of Death."

"That's it?" Frank asked. Hades nodded, a sly grin on his face. That couldn't possibly be good.

The knob was on the outside of the doors. And so was the army. if we were going to get the knob, we'd have to get through hundreds of monsters who wanted our heads on a silver platter with a shiny red apple in our mouths.

This was going to be one hell of a scavenger hunt.


	17. Dying As A Family

"But where do we even start?" Hazel asked frantically. That, I did not know. But we had to think of something. Hades had said that keeping the knob would prevent the doors from being opened again. Even then, I couldn't help thinking that he was sending us on a suicide mission. It couldn't possibly be _that_ difficult to get someone else to do it.

"I guess we start with heading to the Doors of Death. Not much we can do if we want the doors closed." A solemn air of fear hung over all our shoulders. We had escaped death many times. Heck, we'd even saved death. Looking into each and every person's eyes I thought to myself, could I really potentially kill, each and every person on this deck? It would be all my fault. I was their leader. I was the one they all trusted. Was it even worth it to close them? At least Zeus would make it quick. The monsters would drag it out, and make it worse than it had to be.

But could I really unleash hell on the rest of the world? Why put them through, what we had created. It wasn't their fault somebody decided to give a crap about what happened to us. If not for people like Annabeth and my mother, I would have lost my mind. So why extinguish the rest of the population that was just like them? I'd made up my mind. If I was going to go out, I'd go out kicking and screaming.

"We caused this mess." I said. All eyes turned to me. "We can't just leave it for someone else to deal with. We may be stupid, but we're not selfish." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jason nodding his head.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but if I'm going to do something heroic, and brave, and completely insane, I'm going to give it all I got. And if I die trying," I paused, my voice beginning to crack. "Then at least I lived a good, honest life." Tears neck were welling in Annabeth's eyes. She blinked them away and ran up to me. Throwing her arms around my neck, she sobbed into my shoulder letting herself slowly fall apart in my arms. And I let her. She looked up into my eyes and I wiped her tears away. As weird as it sounded, she looked really beautiful when she cried. She was vulnerable. After she finished falling apart, it was my job to slowly put her back together with whispered comfort. After she had wiped her face and pecked my cheek, she turned in my arms to face the group.

"I'm in," she said in a voice barely more than a whisper.

"So am I." Jason said.

"Might as well go out with a bang." Leo said.

"I trust you, Percy. So I'm in too." Piper chimed in. Hazel and Frank looked to each other and shrugged their shoulders. Turning to us Hazel smiled.

"Us too." I smiled. These guys, my family. Had just been asked to die for something. And they had said yes. At least if we were going to die, we would die as a family.

The only thing left to do was get the knob.


	18. Kicking And Screaming

I stand alone on the deck.

It is about 5 o'clock a.m. I couldn't sleep. I can't remember the last time I have. The stress, it submerses my soul and threatens to wring the life out of it until all that is left are the droplets of depression and gloom it has taken on as it's familiar.

It is cold this morning. Temperatures dropping lower and lower. Just as our hope. We all know we're going to die. It's no secret. It's not some mystery we have to solve. It's not anything, but the truth. And sometimes the truth is more than we can learn to tolerate. Because when we don't harbor the confidence we need, sometimes false answers are what our souls crave. And if we don't receive what we crave, we starve ourselves and go hungry for lies and false hopes. Sometimes that's all we dare to hope for. Because no one wants to fall apart in front of an audience.

As my thoughts wander the clouds clear. The ground below glistens with morning dew and the song of birds rejoicing the come of another day. It seems out of place in the midst of what we're going to put ourselves through. A familiar structure comes into view and I sigh. If I don't wake the others and begin our preparations now, we'll never be half ready. And if you can't even go half the way, why dare to hope you can go the distance? I walk through the ship to the different cabins and knock on doors and turn on lights for the, "happy campers" I guess you could call them. Funny how none of them are all that happy.

Grumpy faces and the stench of morning breath fill the mess hall. We eat in silence. We know the plan. What needs to be done _will_ be done. No matter what happens. Keep running, don't look back. The moment you do, you do you're dead. No, you're worse than dead, you're lunch meat on the sandwich of hell.

It's times like these I begin to wonder about an afterlife. Does one even exist? Or do we just die and . . . and what? Cease to exist? Leave everything behind with nothing to gain? If there is an afterlife, I sure hope it's better than the life we have now. Because if it's not, we're all going to be doomed.

It is about 10 o'clock and we stand on the deck, ready with our weapons. All is clear and quiet. Leo steadily guides the ship closer, and closer, and closer. The calm is not calming. It is alarming. If there is an army out there, then they should be readying themselves, sharpening their knives to slit our throats or slice through layers and layers of skin until our heads separate and roll. But there is nothing. Which could only mean one thing.

They know we're here.

And they are ready for us.

A dark cloud approaches the ship.

"STEADY!" Jason calls out. I am about to give him a questioning look when the dark cloud grows closer, and morphs into a ball of blazing arrows. We grab our shields or whatever we have and protect ourselves. I look to Percy standing right next to me and take his hand. If we're going to go out, we'll go out together.

Might as well go out kicking and screaming too.


End file.
